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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203348">Another Place</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyumagashi/pseuds/hyumagashi'>hyumagashi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 4, Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Male Character, I changed a few things btw, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, More tags probably as we go along?, Moving, Nanako is 15 in this by the way, New School, No Personas either for the most part, Phantom Thieves of Hearts cameo, Slow Build, The Investigation Team cameo, but i’ll never write smut lol, kind of a slow burn but also not really, maybe even S.E.E.S cameo, references to leblanc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:56:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,164</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203348</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyumagashi/pseuds/hyumagashi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dojima moves from Inaba to the city for work, he expects life to be only a little bit different from what it was like in Inaba. Though, what he never expected was a surly manager being more involved in his life than the both of them would have ever expected.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dojima Ryotaro/Iwai Munehisa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello, from rare pair hell apparently. I kinda made this ship up on a whim back in like april or may, not only because i was looking for a new fandom, but iwai and dojima are both very cute to me and I wanted to. Although I can’t figure out why I like this pairing so much.</p><p>but anyway, there are only two fics for this pairing and they’re sorta not my thing. I’m too vanilla for smut 😹 so I made my own slice of life au sort of thing. </p><p>I hope this chapter isn’t too boring D: if it is i’m sorry i promise chapter 2 will be a lot more interesting, Iwaijima are going to interact more but uh yea enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nanako sat in her room, mainly by herself for a while. There wasn’t much to do now that this was their last day in Inaba, though she wasn’t sure how to feel about the move. Sure, there was nothing for her or her father in Inaba anymore, assuming there was anything for them in the first place. But, she did make some really good memories in this town, she felt like she was gonna miss it dearly.</p><p>She felt like she at least deserved to know what it was like in Yu’s school, but she supposed it couldn’t be helped. As she was writing down her thoughts, there was a knock on her door, it was only her father signaling he was about to come in if she was ready?</p><p>“Yeah?” Nanako called, setting her notebook down on a box.</p><p>Dojima walked into her room, and man, was she already two steps ahead of him. Aside from the things he said he’d take care of, Nanako was pretty much all packed and ready to go.</p><p>“Someone’s ready to leave Inaba.” Dojima chuckled, traversing further into Nanako’s room. Nanako gave him an awkward laugh, before sitting back down on her futon.</p><p>“Huh? Oh, I guess so.” Nanako smiled, “I honestly didn’t think we’d ever leave Inaba.”</p><p>“Do you want to?” Dojima concerned, sitting next to his daughter. Wasn’t like they had much of a choice, but he at least wanted to know how she felt.</p><p>“I dunno,” Nanako shrugged, “I’m excited, but at the same time I don’t really know anybody.”</p><p>Dojima gave her an understanding nod, he didn’t blame her for feeling the way she did. He was honestly scared for Nanako, moving her into the city as suddenly as he was. She’s lived in Inaba for almost half her life, but Nanako was strong, Dojima knew he didn’t have to worry.</p><p>“I’m sure you’ll make friends easily, Nanako.” Dojima suggested, “You’re an easy person to talk to.”</p><p>“You only say that because we live with each other.” Nanako pointed out, and she honestly did have a point. Still, Dojima had some kind of trusting sense that she was gonna be okay.</p><p>“Well, hey. You’ll be fine if you make a bunch of friends, or if you make none.” Dojima trusted, “You start high school, soon. Are you ready?”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m kinda nervous though.” Nanako admitted, “I don’t really know what it’s gonna be like…”</p><p>“You’ll be fine, Nanako. I promise.” Dojima smiled, despite her better judgment, Nanako took her Dad’s word for it.</p><p>“Oh, moving on,” Nanako remembered, standing up and going into her closet. Reaching to get something Dojima thinks she spent weeks working on. “Before we go, can I just… give this to Mom?”</p><p>Nanako knew how much Dojima was against her going back out at night alone. It was safer now than it was a couple years ago, still. Dojima at least wanted to go with her.</p><p>“Oh, your tree?” Dojima noticed, upon looking at Nanako’s well-detailed sakura tree, maybe she did have a hand for crafts. “I mean, that’s fine but you know I have to come with you.”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s fine!” Nanako answered, grabbing another tree, completely different from hers, “I made one for you, just in case.”</p><p>“Oh,” Dojima gasped, she thought about him, again. Which made Dojima feel bad for some reason. “Thank you, this looks like it took a lot of work.”</p><p>“Hm… I think it took me somewhere around 2 or 3 weeks?” Nanako estimated, “Regardless, it’s yours! So you can keep it if you’d like, or you can just give it to mom.”</p><p>Nanako still preserved her thoughtfulness, even in her current age. Which made Dojima smile silently to himself. Dojima stood up, motioning to the door.</p><p>“I think Mom would appreciate it.” Dojima commented, which made Nanako happier than she thinks it should make her, “We should have dinner first, though. After that, we’ll pay your mom a visit.”</p><p>Nanako gave her father a nod, standing up as well. She forgot that she hadn’t even started making it, and should probably do so now.</p><p>“Yeah, I almost forgot! Uh, I’ll go start it right now.” Nanako insisted, practically sprinting out of the room.</p><p>xx</p><p>About a week later, Nanako seems as though she was doing alright herself. It took maybe a day or two before she felt like she could navigate through the city a bit more comfortably. </p><p>However, Dojima on the other hand was still trying to get used to the busy city life. It’ll be a matter of time before he’s fully used to the cars passing by and the constant chattering going on in central street. </p><p>At least, while he was at work. Dojima was transferred from the local hospital in Inaba to a more… quick-paced at busier one in the city. He knew there would probably be situations where he wouldn’t be home for days at a time, though he figured Nanako’s already learned to get used to that by now.</p><p>This was a really big hospital, though. Dojima had no idea how he even got into a place like this. You could tell that he was serious about what he did, but man did he not expect to get into a busy hospital in Shibuya.</p><p>He was just finishing up a workday, it honestly was harder than Dojima had anticipated, he wasn’t all that ready for it but he kept his composure and just went through the first day.</p><p>He may not think it, but he did way better than some of the other medics thought he was gonna do. Even getting praises along the lines of ‘Didn’t expect a country fellow to hold it together as well as you did.’</p><p>In Dojima’s defense, he’s been in the medical field for years. It was a bit more high-paced than he intended but that didn’t mean he had no idea what he was doing.</p><p>They didn’t need him to do all that much today, so he had time to go and see Nanako, which was what he was hoping for anyway. He was interested in hearing about her first few weeks in high school, which probably was as boring and uneventful as his but it wasn’t really about him.</p><p>Dojima rubbed his face with his hands as he made his way to central street, making a joke between himself about how he would have reached for a cigarette by now.</p><p>It was good that he quit when he did, of course, it wasn’t easy but it proved to be worth it in the end. Not only did he quit because Nanako asked him to, but it was good for his job. It’s counterproductive to ask someone to adopt healthy habits, and then not have healthy habits yourself. He probably couldn’t get away with anything like that in the city.</p><p>Walking through Central Street, though? Definitely wasn’t something he was used to either. The bright city lights, the voices at every corner, and the constant passing cars wasn’t something Dojima thought he was going to get used to. Though, he bit his lip. Complaining about it wasn’t gonna make the move any more enjoyable.</p><p>Dojima pondered what he should do before meeting Nanako back at their apartment. I mean, was there anything they couldn’t do? It seemed as though Shibuya had a lot more to offer than Inaba did.</p><p>The further he walked, the more anxious he became, and it only got worse when he noticed the alleyway that seemed to stand out to him more than the brightly colored grocery stories.</p><p>Dojima gulped as he peered into the alleyway out of pure curiosity, he didn’t walk in too deep, Dojima knew not to mess around in alleyways. Stereotypes or not, they were scary-looking, and nothing good has ever happened in an alleyway.</p><p>However, his intuition told him that he should maybe… explore Shibuya a bit more. Well, not explore. Something along the lines of investigating, that was an old habit of his…</p><p>He could feel sweat running down his head the further he walked, turning to a corner, he noticed a shop that was strangely placed away from all the other shops in this city. Anything like that was probably illegal and unsafe, but Dojima’s experience with cultural shock kept him from doing what any sane person would do… which was walk away and see their child waiting for them at home.</p><p>The shop’s name was ‘Untouchables’ … Dojima didn’t like anything about the way that name sounded in his head… And yet, something in his head told him to go in.</p><p>Why? Because he’d never see anything like this in Inaba, and maybe a look around the place wasn’t gonna make him look too bad.</p><p>Despite his better judgment, Dojima went inside the shop, already fidgeting with his scrub. The look on his face upon seeing all the guns displayed in the shop. Was this shop even allowed to… be here!?”</p><p>“Relax…” The manager behind the counter graveled, somehow noticing Dojima’s shocked expression behind his magazine. “Nothin’ here is real. They’re models.”</p><p>The man behind the counter went by Iwai, he appeared to be one of the more… intimidating guys in Shibuya. If it was safe for Dojima to assume that there were more scary looking people in this city.</p><p>“Still…” Dojima gasped, still taking a look at a few of the guns from a safe distance. He looked like a five-year-old, roaming around the toy section in a department store.</p><p>Iwai figured it was just better to suppress his sigh and let him wander about his business. He probably wandered into the wrong area and found this place, that happened more often than one may think.</p><p>Dojima honestly didn’t know the first thing about guns, he had no plans to buy a gun, but he was still interested in this place. It was probably a good thing that these two were alone. Not really for Dojima’s safety, but the regulars won’t be too pleased to see a doctor in this place.</p><p>“Is a place like this even legal?” Dojima inquired, who was still shocked by what he was seeing. Iwai didn’t bother to look up from his magazine, yet still answered his question.</p><p>“Mmhm. Nothin’ here is real, they just look that way. For the enthusiasts.” Iwai confirmed.</p><p>“For the enthusiasts, huh?” Dojima observed. That statement made Iwai break his attention away from his magazine, and onto him, giving him a confused look.</p><p>“How’d someone like you even find this place?” Iwai interrogated, and his question subconsciously made Dojima stand a bit more defensively.</p><p>“Huh? Oh, I… just moved here so I’m just trying to get a general feel of the place.” Dojima answered with an awkward laugh, didn’t seem to amuse Iwai even a little bit, though.</p><p>“And it led you here?” Iwai groaned, with a shake of his head he looked back down at his magazine. “I had a feelin’ you weren’t from around here. Didn’t anybody ever tell you to stay outta alleyways?”</p><p>Well… yes. The voice in his head did, but he ignored it. And here they were. </p><p>Dojima just let out an awkward laugh in return, he probably should have listened to the voice in his head now that his curiosity led to… this.</p><p>“Look, this really ain’t the place casuals should be hangin’ out in. Let alone, a doctor.” Iwai put rather harshly, not a lot of things made Dojima wince. Yet, here he was, furrowing his brows at the manager who was twice as scarier than he could ever dream to be.</p><p>“Hurry it up, I’m about to close up the shop. Buy somethin’ and leave, or get the hell out.” Iwai spat, flipping through pages.</p><p>“Geez… do you drive all your new customers away like that?” Dojima sighed, subconsciously messaging his wrists before Iwai gave him a hum, flipping through more pages.</p><p>“Yup. And you won’t be the last.” Iwai promised. And with that Dojima gave a challenging nod, before walking out of the shop.</p><p>Dojima walked out of untouchables, letting out a defeated sigh. He probably should have expected something like that to happen at a place like that.</p><p>Still… so much for a warm welcome to Shibuya. It wasn’t like he was looking for one in an airsoft shop, but he at least wanted to look around the shop without getting driven out by the surly manager, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped.</p><p>Dojima began to brush off his scrub, before making his way back home.</p><p>xx</p><p>“Nanako?” Dojima called out as he entered the front door, the smell of dinner being made instantly hitting him in the face, reminding his stomach that he hasn’t eaten anything for a while.</p><p>“Oh!” Nanako gasped, rushing to the doorway, meeting with her clearly exhausted father. “Welcome home! Dinner’s almost ready.”</p><p>Wonderful, Dojima thought. As Nanako rushed back into the kitchen, Dojima could help but realize how much older she was getting. He remembered all the times where Nanako was only as tall as his thighs. And now she’s like what? Up to his shoulder. Which scared him more than it should.</p><p>“I didn’t think you’d be back till tomorrow.” Nanako engaged, turning off the stove. Whatever she had in it smelt too much like pork.</p><p>“They didn’t need me for as long as I thought.” Dojima hummed, letting out another exhausted sigh. “I’m off to take a shower…”</p><p>“Alright,” Nanako answered, “Dinner should be ready by then.”</p><p>Dojima gave her a nod, walking past boxes that had yet to be unpacked, and making his way to the bathroom.</p><p>xx</p><p>After his shower, Dojima elected to put on a loose-fitting t-shirt and some shorts, before meeting Nanako in the kitchen. It was funny how Nanako didn’t always sit in front of the TV anymore. Nowadays she’s either doing homework… or on her phone. </p><p>It was crazy how much the times have changed, even though Dojima was reluctant about change.</p><p>“You came just in time.” Nanako announced, bringing both of their dishes to the table. It was a good thing Nanko brought in the table as early as she did now that Dojima thought about it.</p><p>“It smells really good.” Dojima laughed, it honestly helped Nanako feel a little bit better about her food. Even if it was just her and her dad eating, she at least wanted it to taste good for him.</p><p>“Well, I sure do hope it tastes as good as it smells.” Nanako replied, with an inviting smile. But, of course it will. In Dojima’s humble opinion, it always has.</p><p>“A pork bowl, huh?” Dojima noted. Now that he was thinking about it a little clearer, he wondered when Nanako learned how to make something that looked this good? “Well, let’s eat.”</p><p>They both said their thanks, before digging into the food displayed in front of them. Nanako’s cooking will never fail to put Dojima to shame, though…</p><p>“Where did you learn how to make food like this, Nanako?” Dojima complimented, it was good for Nanako to see Dojima enjoying her food.</p><p>“In my free time, usually. I found Mom’s recipe book in middle school. So I thought, why not try to replicate them?” Nanako answered, “I did easier foods at first, the more I kept doing it the better I got at it.”</p><p>It was impressive how she even found that, let alone began to try to replicate the foods in that book. Dojima had actually completely forgotten about that book. He once tried to make something out of there, but it didn’t go as he planned it… so he never touched the book again.</p><p>Still, though. It was nice to know that her recipe book wasn’t going to go to waste.</p><p>“How’s school going, though?” Dojima wondered, couldn’t have been any better than his high school days, “Are you getting used to it?”</p><p>“Oh, yeah! School’s going a lot better than I thought, actually.” Nanako reported, “I made a friend today. I think his name was… Kaoru?”</p><p>...His name?</p><p>“Oh…” Dojima froze, had she been a little younger, Dojima wouldn’t be reacting the way he is right now, but she was in high school now, so...</p><p>“Don’t worry, Dad. It’s not anything like that.” Nanako sighed, “I’m not ready for that stuff anyway.”</p><p>“Well that’s… uh, refreshing to hear.” Dojima sighed, shaking his head. Before long, Nanako began to laugh, shaking her head while she was at it.</p><p>“Moving on, how is work? You don’t really tell me much about it.” Nanako reminded.</p><p>“Oh, it’s not that interesting, Nanako.” Dojima sighed, “But to answer your question, it’s good. Well, not exactly. I still have to get used to the timing of things.  But other than that, it’s coming.”</p><p>“What exactly do you do, though?” Nanako interrogated.</p><p>“I don’t do anything related to surgery, if that’s what you’re asking. I pretty much do the standard doctor’s office tests. Except it’s in a bigger hospital.” Dojima answered.</p><p>“Must be harder here than it was in Inaba, huh?” Nanako giggled, “I’d imagine… there’d be a lot more people to worry about?” </p><p>“Yeah.” Dojima nodded, Nanako was scarily perceptive. “Something along the lines of that.”</p><p>They both continued to eat, and talk about old memories, before they both finished, leaving Nanako to take care of everything after that.</p><p>“Hey, I’ll take care of the cleanup. You should get to sleep so you’ll be well-rested at work tomorrow.” Nanako advised.</p><p>“What about you? You have school in the morning, Nanako.” Dojima pressed, before Nanako quickly brushed off his concern.</p><p>“Oh, I’ll be fine. I’ll head straight to bed when I finish.” Nanako promised.</p><p>And despite Dojima’s reluctance, he agreed to leave her be, heading in the direction of his room.</p><p>“Okay…” Dojima agreed, with a defeated sigh. He wasn’t even sure if he was ready for the day tomorrow… “Good night, Nanako.”</p><p>“Night, Dad!” Nanako wished. And with that, Dojima traveled further into his room, and got himself ready for bed. It was good that Nanako suggested that he got some sleep. He needed to be out of the house before she did.</p><p>Dojima lied down on his futon, there was no reason for one anymore, he could always just get a bed but he needed to have something to remind him of Inaba. He kept staring off into space, allowing memories to come and go, before allowing his body to fall asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys I intended to update this fic earlier than I did but school got in my way and I had to juggle 6 things at the same time and i’m missing so much stuff for school and i’m trying to make it up and elections... so I’ve just been really stressed out and I couldn’t devote as much time to this story as I liked but yea the second chapter is here! Iwaijima interacts a little more, you could even say they made a deal. Seems kinda boring at first *i know* but i promise that they’re gonna be the cool masc gay couple that everyone wants ok thank you</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Geez… </p><p>Dojima wasn’t at all ready to start the day today. He couldn’t help but be jealous of Nanako, who was getting just a bit more sleep than he was. He supposed he really couldn’t complain, this job is what he signed up for after all.</p><p>Before going on his way to work, Dojima decided to hop into the shower before heading on over to work. When he got out, he changed into another scrub that he had in a box and walked out the door.</p><p>Still envying his daughter, he leaned up against the wall, trying to keep himself awake, his fatigue lasted a couple minutes, usually. It seemed all of it faded away when he got close to or to work. </p><p>When Dojima was about to continue over to work, someone in the apartment next to his. Which startled him a little bit, he still wasn’t used to the whole neighbors bit. In a sense, he had neighbors in Inaba, but the apartment thing felt a little bit too close.</p><p>Dojima originally intended on just going on about his day, before he got a good look at the person walking out of the apartment. This was… that guy? The same guy that rushed him out of his store.</p><p>“Oh…” Dojima gasped, Iwai quickly turned around at the disturbingly familiar voice. From his apartment, he saw a Dojima who had his arms crossed, but a clueless expression.</p><p>“Christ…” Iwai groaned under his breath, locking the front door to his apartment. He knew he just moved but had no idea he moved into the apartment next to his. “Do I have to apologize for pushin’ you out my shop?”</p><p>He looked a little bit upset about it when he did it… and Iwai wasn’t gonna lie, he did feel maybe just a little bit bad about it afterward.</p><p>“Uh, no. Not really.” Dojima coughed. He wasn’t gonna buy anything anyway.</p><p>Iwai hummed, placing his keys in his pocket. So Dojima was his neighbor… a little bit ironic. Normally when he’s hostile to newcomers he doesn’t ever see them again.</p><p>“You have to be up at 6:15 to open a gun store?” Dojima poked. Feeling as though he was pushing his luck a little bit, and he probably was.</p><p>“Yeah, I do.” Iwai challenged, “I’m the only one who makes sure everything’s the way it should be. What do you need to know for, doc?”</p><p>“I was just curious,” Dojima reported, giving a friendly shrug. “We are neighbors, after all.”</p><p>“Sure.” Iwai shrugged. They were neighbors, though. That’s as far as it was gonna be. Because honestly, he already really didn’t like this guy. He felt kind of standoffish, but he never said anything about it. “I don’t appreciate the sudden interest, but that’s fair I guess.”</p><p>“What’s with the fixation with model guns, though?” Dojima asked, purely out of curiosity. But it seemed to touch a nerve or two.</p><p>“Why does it matter? If you don’t like it, don’t come back to the shop.” Iwai whistled, “It’s probably not a place for you to be hangin’ around anyway, Doc.”</p><p>“I never said I was against it. As long as they aren’t real, anyway.” Dojima fidgeted, mildly. “I just… wanted to know.”</p><p>“Why? Are you an undercover detective or some shit?” Iwai spat, half-jokingly.</p><p>“No, I’m not.” Dojima stuttered. “I’m just some doctor from the country, I guess.”</p><p>“Good for you.” Iwai nodded, he really didn’t care though, “You go do that, then, neighbor.”</p><p>Iwai began to make his way downstairs, leaving Dojima to think about the interaction they just had. He doesn’t think that this Iwai guy likes him very much. That was either a good or a bad thing. Dojima couldn’t decide.</p><p>But he couldn’t help but find Iwai interesting. He was kind of hostile, intimidating as well. But, there was still something about him that Dojima found intriguing, it’s probably because there were a lot of things he didn’t know about him, that he’d like to.</p><p>Like what was up with the gecko tattoo on his neck… Perhaps that’s all he wanted to know.</p><p>Dojima quickly got out of his head and began to check his watch. He was gonna be late if he didn’t get going to the station now. So he got himself together and began to make his way down to the station.</p><p>xx</p><p>Dojima stayed in his office for most of the day, he’s just now realizing how uneventful his day can truly be when he doesn’t get a lot of patients. Dojima began to take a look at the clock for a minute, before hearing a knock on his door. Usually, that meant that it wasn’t a patient, but other staff members looking to get something done for them.</p><p>Dojima hopped off of his exam table and opened the door to see who it was. Pleasantly surprised it wasn’t anybody worse than the skilled intern.</p><p>“Oh! Good morning, Haru.” Dojima welcomed, leaving the door open momentarily.</p><p>“Good morning, Dojima-san.” Haru returned, with a smile. “Um, may I come in?”</p><p>“Oh? Yeah, yes of course!” Dojima invited, closing the door when Haru made her way in. “It’s not a very exciting day, today. Sorry about that.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s okay. I’d still like to try doing what I can today.” Haru dismissed, it wasn’t every day that Dojima was able to see a college student so passionate about the medical field. That was refreshing, for him.</p><p>“Ah… things should pick back up a little later. So far, I haven’t been needed for anything.” Dojima announced, “I’m surprised you came as soon as you did. I wasn’t expecting to see you until maybe...noon.”</p><p>“I hope it isn’t an inconvenience that I came so early. For some reason, all my classes were pushed to the evening, so I decided to arrive a tad bit earlier.” Haru explained.</p><p>“Hm. Well, it is only 10:30. Better too early than too late, though. Am I right?” Dojima pitched.</p><p>“That’s right.” Haru agreed, with a giggle.</p><p>“So, Haru. While we’re here, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself.” Dojima suggested, “What made you decide that this is what you wanted to do?”</p><p>“Oh, well. Taking care of others seemed to be something that I truly enjoyed doing. I can still recall taking care of my father on days he felt unwell.” Haru carried on.</p><p>“I can get behind that,” Dojima continued, “I mean, you already do an amazing job as an intern. It’s not every day I see younger students so passionate about what they study, too.”</p><p>“Thank you, Dojima-San! You may have already guessed, but I truly do enjoy working here. It’s wonderful to hear those words coming from you.” Haru smiled.</p><p>“Of course.” Dojima nodded, it wasn't hard to say that when she did way better than most of the already existing staff here. “We’re both kinda new here, anyway. So if I burn out, I know things won’t end too terribly.”</p><p>They both shared a laugh, but their small talk was quickly interrupted with a knock at Dojima’s door. Dojima suppressed a groan, addressing the nurse from inside the office.</p><p>“I’m coming.” Dojima answered, walking to the door, “You should come too, Haru. I doubt I can teach you anything but maybe you might learn… I dunno. Something.”</p><p>“Okay, I won’t be too far behind you.” Haru determined, with a nod.</p><p>xx</p><p>It seems like Dojima had proved himself right, there wasn’t much that he could teach Haru. It seemed as though she studied and paid attention to her classes. Of course, there were still a few things she needed to work on but they weren’t anything to career-altering.</p><p>“You said that you have classes around the evening time, correct?” Dojima recapped, checking his watch. Looking at a watch that read ‘3:30’.</p><p>“Yes. At 4:15, so I should probably get going now.” Haru answered, “Thank you for everything today, though. There are things I’d still like to work on, but I’m sure I can fix them quickly with your help.”</p><p>“There’s no need to be so formal, y’know.” Dojima chuckled. “Seriously, though. You did really well today, I look forward to working with you again.”</p><p>“You have my thanks as well. I’ll hope to see you again in a few days.” Haru waved, making her way out of his office.</p><p>And if he was being honest, he kind of envied Haru right now. Only because Haru could get out of this place a few hours earlier than he could. But in her defense, she did have classes to attend right after this.</p><p>Dojima sat in his office for a while, Nanako should be just getting back home right about now. As Dojima pondered, someone else decided to knock on his door, expecting it to just be another door, he got up, opening the door.</p><p>“Good evening, you’re free to leave now, if you want.” Said a nurse, and the sudden announcement made Dojima’s eyes widen a little bit. </p><p>“Oh, seriously? How come?” Dojima interrogated.</p><p>“I’m not too sure, they just told me to come to your office to tell you that you may leave early today.”</p><p>“Uh… okay. That’s weird but, thank you.” Dojima told, with his nod being slow and filled with skepticism. He closes the door, giving himself room to think before packing up his things and getting ready to leave.</p><p>On his way out of the building, amongst wishing everyone a good evening, he couldn’t help but find that interaction weird. Why did he have to go home early? Did they not trust him? And if that was the case, was it because he was new to the area? Or was it because they had a hard time trying to swallow the fact that a small-town doctor was doing well?</p><p>Whatever the reason was, it was weird as hell in Dojima’s mind. It was hard to shake off, but it seemed as though that was his only choice so supposedly it just couldn’t be helped.</p><p>He took the same way home as the previous night, through Central Street, to the train. The same way home, he ran into the same alleyway. </p><p>He normally would have just gone on his way home, since it didn’t seem like Iwai liked him all that much, he still wanted to stop by the shop. Again, mainly out of curiosity.</p><p>Dojima adjusted his bag on his shoulders, went into the alleyway, and made his way into the model gun store.</p><p>When Dojima made his way into the store, Iwai wasn’t there. Or rather, Iwai was in the store, just not in the front at that moment.</p><p>Dojima made the mental note in his head, wandering around the store. Of course, there was nothing for the store to offer but model guns, but still. It was scary how real these guns looked, whoever made these things knew what a real gun looked and felt like.</p><p>Well… Dojima didn’t. But from what one can see in the media these models could pass for real guns!</p><p>“Can I help you?” Iwai called out, causing Dojima to jump momentarily. He didn’t even hear Iwai coming back over to the front. “You look lost.”</p><p>Dojima didn’t even give himself time to recover from being startled, already trying to muster up some kind of response.</p><p>“No, I’m- I’m alright.” Dojima stammered, “I’m just, uh, looking around. These guns look and feel so real…”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m sure you were,” Iwai suggested, shaking his head and sitting back down in the front. “Though, I can’t seem to understand what business a doctor has in a place like this.”</p><p>“I’m just curious, is all.” Dojima chuckled, nervously, “You don’t really see too many places like this in Inaba, so I wanted to look around for a minute.”</p><p>“You’re from Inaba?” Iwai wondered, although he sounded like he didn’t care, and he was flipping through pages in a manual, he doesn’t think he’s ever interacted with anybody from the country.</p><p>“Well, yeah.” Dojima confirmed, “It’s a really small town, there was nothing to do there but for the most part I enjoyed living there.”</p><p>“I know what Inaba is. I’ve heard of it.” Iwai scoffed, “I’ve just never actually been to Inaba myself.”</p><p>Oh… that was kind of awkward. All these years he just assumed that Inaba was just some unknown town that only himself and the people who lived there knew about. Iwai just might be the only person in the city that knows about that town.</p><p>“Oh… how’d you come to find out about it?” Dojima interrogated.</p><p>“A magazine, it looked kinda lifeless so I wasn’t that interested in it,” Iwai remarked, which was kind of a hit to the gut for Dojima. Iwai wasn’t wrong but, only Inaba natives could comment on how boring it was… “But, I know that it exists at least.”</p><p>“Huh.” Dojima ended, for the best most likely. “Does the city ever tire you out at all?”</p><p>“Nope, I bet it’s takin’ its toll on you, though, country boy.” Iwai poked. That was kinda low, though. He was trying his best to get used to this place and it seemed like Iwai could see right through him.</p><p>“Gimme a break… every morning I’m up basically before the crack of dawn.” Dojima sighed, still browsing through different types of guns the store had to offer.</p><p>“I didn’t ask, but you do look like you could use a day off.” Iwai cackled. “Movin’ on, are you actually gonna buy anythin’? Or are you just here to scare away my customers.”</p><p>Geez, Dojima couldn’t handle the idea of owning a gun. Even if it wasn’t real, it sure as hell looked like it was. It would probably even cost him his job too.</p><p>“Ah… even if I did come to buy something, I wouldn’t know where to start.” Dojima sighed, with an awkward laugh. “Probably won’t look all that great on me anyway.”</p><p>“Well, hurry up and finish your little tour, I don’t want you runnin’ into my regulars, that won’t look good on me.” Iwai conditioned. Dojima nodded to himself, taking his attention off of the guns and onto Iwai. He knew that he’d probably be back. He felt it, but he wasn’t sure why he felt like he’d be back. He didn’t even really… favor guns.</p><p>“Sure… Alright.” Dojima agreed, “Though if we run into each other again, I think it’s only right that you tell me a little more about these guys.”</p><p>Iwai gave him a look, letting him know that he really couldn’t be bothered with any of that. But, he was always down to teach someone new about his interests.</p><p>“Oh really? And why’s that?” Iwai challenged.</p><p>“I mean, we are neighbors, after all.” Dojima shrugged, and that’s when he had received a confused look from Iwai, who didn’t seem turned away from the idea. But, still… the fact that Dojima even suggested it.</p><p>“Neighbors…” Iwai repeated to himself, “Yeah, alright. ‘Neighbors.’ Just don’t expect me to just throw free guns at you whenever you want ‘em.”</p><p>“I can’t say I’d buy one… I’d like to learn a bit about them though. Y’know, for anatomy. What it does when it does to your body.” Dojima pitched, feeling satisfied with himself. Dojima brushed himself off, beginning to walk out of the shop.</p><p>Iwai simply scoffed, giving Dojima this amused look when his back was turned to him. Iwai let out a sigh, flipping through a page in his magazine.</p><p>“Whatever,” Iwai cackled, “Make sure the door doesn’t hit you on your way out.”</p><p>Or however that saying went.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>also yes! I added Haru, i thought doctor haru made sense despite the fact that everyone has that haru okumura sadist joke going on??? I think doctor haru is 👍 lemme know if wrote her a bit awkwardly though because if there’s one thing i’m not good at it’s writing formal characters ha</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So this chapter I decided to just play around with Nanako because one day i was like “hey, nanako and kaoru aren’t really the main focus butttt i kinda wanna flesh them out!” So I did haha, well i don’t really know if I fleshed them out but I tried to give them their own personalities, I’m thinking that Nanako and Kaoru are gonna hang out really often so lemme know what you think!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Classes let out for a while, meaning that Nanako could finally have a break. She let out a sigh as she began to make her way up to the rooftop. She still wasn’t sure if students were even allowed on the rooftop, but she liked to have lunch on the rooftop, so it wasn’t like she cared.</p><p>She had a huge bento box that she made herself before. Though, she honestly wasn’t sure if she could finish it by herself. She sat down on one of the unused desks that they still kept on the roof, which was nice for Nanako at least. Because at least she could have a nice view of the garden that the third-years have been working on while she ate.</p><p>It wasn’t long before she began to start eating that she heard the door leading to the rooftop open. Out of curiosity, she turned her head to see who it was. And to a pleasant surprise, it was her friend, Kaoru.</p><p>“Nanako!” Kaoru called out, hastily closing the door behind him. “Do you think anyone would care if we ate lunch up here?”</p><p>“Mm, I don’t think so.” Nanako shrugged in response, “I’m pretty sure that if they didn’t want students up here in the first place, they would’ve locked the door.”</p><p>Kaoru laughed at her comment, she may have been joking but she did kinda make a good point. </p><p>“You’ve got a point there.” Kaoru chuckled, unwrapping the bread that he had bought downstairs. “Aren’t third-years working on the garden anyway?”</p><p>“I think so.” Nanako commented, “I think it looks really cool. They couldn’t have done this recently, though. I don’t think this is the season for it, at least not yet.”</p><p>Before Nanako continued any further, she reminded herself to offer her friend lunch, because she had made all this food and it’d really suck if it all went to waste.</p><p>“By the way, I made dinner last night for my Dad and I, but we couldn’t finish everything. So… I decided to bring what was left for lunch, but I don’t really think I can finish it by myself.” Nanako explained, as she let out a nervous laugh. “Do you want some? It might be sub-par compared to other porkbowls but it’d be bad if it just went to waste, y’know?”</p><p>“Oh, well I actually forgot to pack lunch today so you pretty much just saved my ass.” Kaoru nodded, taking Nanako up on her offer.</p><p>Upon accepting her offer, Nanako poured some of her food out into a bowl Kaoru had given her. Her leftovers weren’t smoking hot, but it was warm. So at least it’d taste good.</p><p>“Oh, here.” Nanako gasped, before lending Kaoru an extra pair of take-out chopsticks she had. “I always carry around extra chopsticks for some reason. I just figured they’d come in handy one day. And I guess today was that day.”</p><p>“Nanako always comes prepared… noted.” Karou observed, getting a small laugh out of Nanako. It was time for the moment of truth, though. To see whether or not her food actually tasted decent.</p><p>Karou began to take a few bites out of the food he was given, and he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but this exceeded all… unexpecting expectations! If that was really even a thing.</p><p>“Nanako… this is really good! Did you make this?” Kaoru interrogating, at first Nanako thought he was being really overdramatic, but Kaoru swore that he genuinely enjoyed his meal that she offered him.</p><p>“Oh, it can’t be that good. But, I did make it.” Nanako laughed, “It’s actually not my recipe, it’s my mom’s. I added my own little twist to it, though.”</p><p>“Geez… you mind showing me how to cook like this one day?” Kaoru wondered, gaining another laugh from Nanako. Who, again, thought he was being overdramatic. But imagine how impressed Iwai would be with his next meal if Nanako gave him a few pointers.</p><p>“Sure, if you want! Maybe if I have time over the weekend we can do something like that.” Nanako suggested, with an accomplished, but humble smile on her face.</p><p>The two of them continued to eat their lunch, Kaoru couldn’t help but feel like he lucked out today. He forgot to pack his lunch, but whatever god was out there told Nanako to cover for him, and so she did.</p><p>When they finished their lunch, their conversation moved on from Nanako telling Kaoru how much her mom inspired her to cook, to simpler things. Such as clubs, life in Shujin, and some other things from their past.</p><p>“They’re gonna open up some clubs soon,” Karou mentioned, out of the blue, “Are you thinking about joining any?”</p><p>“The Aikido club! Just because I’ve been doing Aikido for… pretty much half my life.” Nanako giggled, which caught Kaoru by surprise. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting from Nanako, but it wasn’t the fact that she knew Aikido.</p><p>“You know Aikido?” Kaoru gasped, thinking that was pretty cool. It was good that she was able to defend herself and all.</p><p>“Yeah, haha.” Nanako confirmed. “When I was a little younger, my older cousin had this friend that was obsessed with martial arts, I think at one point we were watching a kung fu movie that came on TV. She pitched the idea to me and I kinda just ran with it.”</p><p>“How good were you at it?” Kaoru wondered, setting his bowl beside him.</p><p>“Well, when I first got into it, I was still new so it wasn’t like I was good on the first day. But, I did find it fun, the more I came back, the better I got at it.” Nanako told, “Believe it or not, my dad was kinda against the idea. I think it’s because he thought I wouldn’t like it as much as I thought I would.”</p><p>“That’s pretty cool, Nanako. You’re pretty talented, I guess that means I need to step up my game.” Kaoru joked.</p><p>“Why don’t we join the club together?” Nanako suggested, “If you haven’t already joined a club yet, let’s ask Niijima-sensei when they open up the clubs?”</p><p>“Hm… Aw, what the hell. I probably wasn’t going to do anything anyway,” Kaoru agreed, with a shrug, “That sounds like fun! Let’s do that.”</p><p>“Cool! You’re not obligated to stay in it, by the way. If you decide you don’t like it, you could always quit.” Nanako reassured.</p><p>“We’ll see how it is. But, for the most part I’m looking forward to it.” Kaoru beamed, “I wonder what my dad might think of me doing Aikido, actually.”</p><p>“Well, Aikido is a handy hobby to have.” Nanako reported, “So, I’m sure he’ll support you.”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m not sure if he’ll notice though. He’s always working, usually never home. And since I don’t have any else to do it, I’m usually always doing the housework.” Kaoru explained, “It’s usually just me and my dad so… I don’t think it’ll go unnoticed.”</p><p>“Oh, same here!” Nanako sympathized, “Normally it’s just my dad and I. He’s usually always working late, but what can you expect from a doctor, you know?”</p><p>“Actually, now that I think about it he has been coming home earlier lately, but that’s probably because we just moved.” Nanako added.</p><p>“Wait, your dad’s a doctor?” Kaoru gasped, “Geez… you never run out of surprises, Nanako. Mine just owns a model gun store.”</p><p>“A model gun store!?” Nanako repeated, “Can I check it out sometime? I didn’t think a place like that was even legal!”</p><p>“It barely is, actually.” Kaoru chuckled, “He hasn’t been in legal trouble for owning the store yet, so I don’t think it’s that big of an issue, honestly.”</p><p>“Regardless, I’d better not say anything about it to my dad… I think he’d freak out.” Nanako sighed, with another awkward laugh.</p><p>“Dad’s can be a real hassle sometimes,” Kaoru sighed, empathetically, “Kinda makes me wish I had a mom… I don’t really know what happened to her, or if she’s even alive.”</p><p>“Oh, I’m sorry.” Nanako sympathized, “I don’t have a mom either, so I guess we’re on the same boat. She passed when I was really young, so I keep her cookbook to keep her memories alive.”</p><p>“I’m sorry for your loss.” Kaoru consoled, or at least tried to. Until Nanako basically shrugged it off.</p><p>“You’re fine. It happened a really long time ago, I just hope she had a good life.” Nanako brushed off. Neither of them had realized how much time had actually gone by, and before they knew it, the bell started to ring.</p><p>“Oh, shit. We should probably get outta now, being late wouldn’t be… good for either of us.” Kaoru recommended.</p><p>“Yeah, I agree.” Nanako nodded, “I’ll see you after school then?”</p><p>“Yeah, sure! Let’s talk about that Aikido thing later too.” Kaoru agreed.</p><p>xx</p><p>It was almost midnight, Dojima was exhausted, he ended up having to work later than he thought, work was brutal today, he just… wasn’t having a great day today.</p><p>He decided to just go straight home, he couldn’t be bothered with untouchables right now. Besides, Nanako would probably yell at him if she found out he’s been wasting his time after work in a model gun store.</p><p>He had no idea if Nanako cooked or not, probably wouldn’t have mattered regardless, he wasn’t all that hungry right now. He just needed some sleep.</p><p>He walked himself back to the apartment complex, wishing that he had a car, until he logically thought about it… there probably wasn’t any reason for a car. Dojima always got around without a car, wasn’t like he couldn’t afford one, he just couldn’t bother with one.</p><p>On his way back to his apartment, he ran into a familiar face. It looked like Iwai was coming home late too. Only he didn’t look as burnt out as Dojima did.</p><p>“Well… look what the cat dragged in.” Iwai whistled, taking his keys out of his pocket. Dojima let out a tired laugh, airing out his scrub again.</p><p>“Yeah…” Dojima agreed, chuckling. He was going to get a break soon, so he wasn’t worried about it, “I mean, you’re coming in pretty late yourself.”</p><p>“Uh-huh. Give it a few nights.” Iwai snorted, poking at how washed Dojima appeared to be.</p><p>“Oh, that’s real funny.” Dojima growled, “I’ve worked late nights before, y’know.”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m sure you have. The city is a lot busier, in case you haven’t already noticed.” Iwai mentioned, all it did was make Dojima scoff.</p><p>“Yeah, no shit.” Dojima remarked, “It’s nothing that I can’t handle though.”</p><p>“Nothing that you can’t handle!?” Iwai cackled at the suggestion. Seeing how tired Dojima appeared to be.</p><p>“I haven’t died yet.” Dojima shrugged. Iwai found that hilarious for some reason. If he really meant what he was saying, Dojima truly was every bit of the guy Iwai assumed that he was. </p><p>“Why don’t you settle down there. Before you actually do die.” Iwai suggested, still in the midst of laughing.</p><p>“I would if I could.” Dojima sighed, “But, no. I have to be ready for just about anything.”</p><p>Although, he supposed that Haru could fill in his shoes every now and then. But not only would that be using his intern, he also liked to do some things by himself.</p><p>“It’s what you signed up for, right?” Iwai recapped, tapping his fingers against the door.</p><p>“Basically.” Dojima answered, nodding his head.</p><p>“Then you’ll survive.” Iwai stated, and not too long after that the door behind him began to open. The person standing behind the door caught Dojima off guard, he didn’t know Iwai had any kids.</p><p>“Kaoru? Why the hell are you still up? Don’t you have school tomorrow?” Iwai scolded.</p><p>“I wasn’t up…” Kaoru answered, groggily. “I heard some tapping at the door, and I thought that you might’ve locked yourself out again.”</p><p>“Oh… sorry.” Iwai apologized, with an awkward laugh. “I have my keys this time, it’s alright.”</p><p>With that, Kaoru gave his dad a nod. Making his way back to his room to fall back asleep. Dojima stayed in thought about the interaction Iwai and his kid just had… Kaoru? Didn’t Nanako say something about a kid named Kaoru?</p><p>“I’m gonna go.” Iwai started, bring Dojima back to reality for a few moments. “I’d suggest that you do the same.”</p><p>Dojima nodded in agreement, he didn’t mean to zone out like that. He might have been tired, but he was also really deep in thought. </p><p>“Oh, alright. By the way. That’s your kid, Kaoru, no?” Dojima pressed, pulling Iwai back out for just a couple seconds longer.</p><p>“Short answer for a long story? Yeah, it is.” Iwai answered, “Why is it important?”</p><p>“Because my daughter said that she made a friend named Kaoru, so it caught me off-guard. I didn’t think that he was right next door, though.” Dojima chuckled.</p><p>“Oh.” Iwai nodded, “Well, if it’s my Kaoru, I’m sure they’ll get along.”</p><p>That’s all he said before walking back into his apartment. Dojima stood outside for a couple minutes, trying to fully process their conversation. That was definitely a surprise, though. He never would have guessed that Nanako’s friend would be the next complex over, but he figured it was good that she did. </p><p>Dojima nodded at the interaction, slowly bringing himself back to his apartment complex. Where he guessed that Nanako was fast asleep as well.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Iwaijima interaction again hahahaaa i don’t know if it’s rushed or not, i tried my hardest not to make them reveal anything too personal which I think is realistic because they don’t know each other well enough yet but i’m thinking in the future we see them open up a bit more to each other.</p><p>Iwai gets a bit softer, but only a little softer because my best friend thinks snarky, sarcastic iwai is kinda sexc 😹 but yea updates happen as fast as I can dish them out!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Some more fleshing out of Kaoru and Nanako, Development of Iwaijima and even a new character introduced to the story... Makoto! Who I know is probably out of character here bur I couldn’t help it. I wanted to have fun with her lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dojima could finally catch his breath and have a break tomorrow. Thank god.</p><p>On a Sunday, too! He still had to go to work today, and per usual, on his way home, he decided to stop by the gun store. Only because… they made a little bit of a deal. And Dojima only remembered it after he got off of work.</p><p>Dojima walked through the doors of the gun store, almost as if he owned the place. It wasn’t as late as it was the previous night, it was maybe eight or nine at night.</p><p>Iwai looked up only for a minute to see who came through the door, upon seeing Dojima he immediately opted to ignore him. For a moment, he remembered what he said about running into him, the guns, showing him the guns. But only because he didn’t expect him to come back.</p><p>He found it a little odd that he agreed to that, though. He didn’t even know Dojima’s name. Iwai thought it was probably because he just wanted the man to leave him alone.</p><p>In Dojima’s defense though, Iwai was… probably the only person in Shibuya that he knew, so it wasn’t like Dojima was acting unusual, he was probably still trying to find his feet in this city.</p><p>Dojima began to clear his throat, he didn’t need to or anything. He was just trying to get Iwai’s attention. When Iwai ignored it for a second time, he did it again.</p><p>Iwai’s eyes traveled from the model he was working on, to Dojima, seemingly glaring at the doctor. Didn’t he have anything better to do than to hang around in a gun store?</p><p>“Seriously?” Iwai groaned, keeping his tired eyes on Dojima, “What?”</p><p>“The guns, I wanna see ‘em.” Dojima announced.</p><p>Iwai continued to stare at Dojima, with an annoyed, blank expression on his face. He eventually shifted his focus over to his magazine again.</p><p>“Why? I thought you were just bluffin’ about that.” Iwai complained.</p><p>Well, Dojima was kind of bluffing about it. But, this was probably one of the only times he was going to get close to getting a tour of all of Iwai’s realistic-looking guns. Probably the most realistic to a gun Dojima was ever going to get.</p><p>It was strange, before meeting Iwai he’s never had an interest in guns. Though, this time Dojima figured why the hell not? Might as well have the experience while he has the chance.</p><p>“I figured why not. I’m new to the area, thought that I may as well let the tourist in me reveal himself for a while.” Dojima chuckled, technically he could do all the tourism he wanted tomorrow, but Iwai probably didn’t know that. Probably wouldn’t care, either.</p><p>“Geez…” Iwai groaned, just what the hell was he getting himself into? “Fine, whatever. Take a look around or something, if you’ve got a question about anything just run it back to me.”</p><p>With the invitation, Dojima gave him a nod. And began to start looking around the store, even though he could sense that Iwai probably wanted anything but that right now.</p><p>xx</p><p>Dojima spent a lengthy amount of time looking around the store, taking a closer look at the models, asking about them. He was taking a look at them for… at least 30 minutes. It took a good chunk out of Iwai’s time but he wasn’t wandering in the store for as long as he thought.</p><p>“Was that enough to satisfy you?” Iwai interrogated. He had barely moved since Dojima had entered the shop, not having a reason to, anyway. All he had to do was answer questions if Dojima had any, anyway.</p><p>“I suppose it is.” Dojima shrugged, he had already seen all that he wanted to see in the shop, and yet Dojima still had a lot more questions for him. The only thing that kept him from asking Iwai these questions is that he doesn’t… know what they are. Doesn’t help that he isn’t in the place to ask him these questions.</p><p>“What’d you wanna look at the guns for, anyway?” Iwai questioned, he wasn’t suspecting Dojima of anything serious, he was just curious. And the ‘I’m new around here’ answer just…. didn’t sit well with him. “You don’t strike me as someone who has an interest in guns.”</p><p>The observation caught Dojima off-guard because he was right. Iwai would even go as far as to say that before finding the gun store, he was scared of guns. So the sudden interest threw Dojima off as well.</p><p>“Well… as I said. You don’t find too many places like this in Inaba. Something in the back of my head told me to check the place out, and despite my better judgment, I did.” Dojima answered, unknowingly probably the best answer he could come up with as for right now.</p><p>“You sure it isn’t anythin’ more than that?” Iwai pressured, setting the magazine down and leaning in Dojima’s direction.</p><p>“I dunno…” Dojima answered, before thinking about it for a moment. Iwai was onto something, and Dojima picked it up right away, yet couldn’t find the answer. “Do you think there is?”</p><p>“I sense an ulterior motive from you, country boy.” Iwai teased.</p><p>Ulterior motive!? Dojima wasn’t like that at all… And even then, in some kind of way the ulterior motive comment got under his skin somehow.</p><p>“There’s no ulterior motive,” Dojima defended, “And it’s Dojima. Ryotaro Dojima.”</p><p>Iwai gave the shorter man a small chuckle, before kicking his feet up on his counter and giving Dojima a small shrug.</p><p>“And is this the part where I tell you who I am?” Iwai snickered, and for some reason, it was able to get a small laugh out of Dojima even if it was small and sounded forced and awkward.</p><p>“We are neighbors. So, I’d appreciate it.” Dojima responded.</p><p>Iwai nodded at the answer, it was fair, to say the least. If he was gonna stick around with him for as long as he. He should at least know how to address him as something other than ‘Surly Manager’.</p><p>“Munehisa Iwai.” Iwai gave in, getting out of his comfortable position only to stand up and shake Dojima’s hand, “Don’t expect anything from me for free, though.”</p><p>“I’ll keep that in mind.” Dojima nodded, with a mischievous smile plastered on his face, “Though I won’t say that I’m not gonna try.”</p><p>xx</p><p>The school day had let out. And if Nanako recalled correctly, clubs were recruiting members today. She made her way down the practice buildings, not bothering to look for Karou only because she figured that he was there already.</p><p>As she started making her way down to the gym, she ran into Kaoru who seemed to also be heading to the gym. Nanako wasn’t sure if Kaoru was going to go through with joining the Aikido club, but she’s happy that he did.</p><p>“Hey!” Nanako greeted, speeding up to meet up with a Karou that appeared to be happy to see her. “So, you’re joining the Aikido club after all.”</p><p>Karou let out a nervous laugh as he began to scratch the nape of his neck, he couldn’t believe it either. But if Nanako was looking forward to it, why not give it a try?</p><p>“I figured why not.” Kaoru shrugged, “I’ve never done anything like this before. And it might come in handy in the future. You never really know.”</p><p>“I can’t guarantee that it’s something that you’d wanna keep doing. But, it’s cool that you’re giving it a go!” Nanako appreciated, “Just remember that you don’t have to stay in this club because I’m in it.”</p><p>“I’ll keep that in mind.” Karou noted with a nod. </p><p>Nanako then opened the door that would lead the two of them into the gym, Shujin’s gym was a lot bigger than Nanako had originally anticipated, though Shujin was a big school on its own.</p><p>They wandered around the gym for some time, the original plan was to just check out the Aikido club and leave. But they were soon sidetracked by the other clubs that the school had to offer.</p><p>For both of them, it was a lot of fun. Not that they were gonna join any of the other clubs but they met a lot of new people and learned some things that they probably weren’t going to need at the moment, but would come in handy in the future.</p><p>Eventually, they caught themselves in the middle of their exploration and began to make their way down to the Aikido booth.</p><p>“I believe… this is it.” Nanako examined, walking further up to the table. Kaoru wasn’t sure what he was getting himself into, but he abandoned all expectations the minute he walked into the gym.</p><p>“The Aikido club, huh?” Kaoru observed.</p><p>“Mmhm! Come on, let’s go check it out.” Nanako suggested.</p><p>When they made it behind the table, they were greeted by the Aikido instructor, who gave them a warm smile despite how hard she could be on the students. At least, that was a rumor that went around for a while.</p><p>“Oh, hello! Might you two be interested in joining the Aikido club?” Makoto inquired.</p><p>“Yes! I am.” Nanako answered, purposely excluding Kaoru. She was serious when she said she wasn’t gonna force him to do anything he didn’t want to do.</p><p>Makoto gave Nanako an inviting nod, before turning to Kaoru. She wasn’t sure if he was interested in the sport or not, but he was here. So it couldn’t hurt to ask.</p><p>“Wonderful!” Makoto smiled, “What about you? Are you interested as well?”</p><p>“Uh… yeah.” Kaoru stuttered, not too sure of his answer himself. But he supposed now that he said he was interested in joining, there was no turning back.</p><p>“I’m glad to hear that! I’m Makoto Nijiima, the Aikido instructor. I’ll do everything I can to make this club not only a new learning experience but a lot of fun.” Makoto promised, “Is this your first time signing up for an Aikido club?”</p><p>“No. I’ve been doing Aikido for a few years, so it only felt right to do it again.” Nanako spoke.</p><p>Kaoru on the other hand… wasn’t so experienced in Aikido, and for a second kinda doubted that he would even perform decently in this club.</p><p>“Ah, it’s mine, though.” Kaoru admitted, “I’ve never even considered Aikido until today for some odd reason.”</p><p>“There’s a first time for everything, right? The skills you’ll learn in the class might really come in handy someday. I can assure you won’t regret it.” Makoto reported.</p><p>Kaoru just returned the awkward laugh, with a nod. He appreciated her enthusiasm but he honestly hoped that he wasn’t gonna regret joining. </p><p>“Well, it sounds like fun. I think I’ll give it a go.” Kaoru decided. Though, for some reason, his answer gained a concerned look from Nanako.</p><p>“Are you sure? You aren’t obligated to.” Nanako reminded. But even if Kaoru wanted to back out, it wasn’t like he could.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m sure. Gotta learn how to defend myself one way or another, right?” Kaoru declared, with Nanako giggling at the dedication.</p><p>“Great! Then let’s go over some of the ground rules.” Makoto started.</p><p>She explained to them her basic rules, don’t attend practice if you need to catch up on your studies, maintain model behavior, and other general rules that everyone has broken at one point or another. When she finished, she handed them both clipboards to fill out.</p><p>“Any other questions?” Makoto wondered as the duo handed back the clipboards. She took a split second to look at the stack of applications she had to look at, realizing that she was going to need some help with it… </p><p>“Nope, none from me.” Nanako replied.</p><p>“Same here, if I have any I’ll just ask them later on.” Kaoru reported.</p><p>“Sure,” Makoto nodded, “Then I’ll see you both hopefully on Monday.”</p><p>The duo gave the Aikido instructor a nod, before exiting the gym. Before they left to go home they decided to grab something on their way back.</p><p>“That was certainly an adventure.” Nanako giggled, handing Kaoru the bag of chips that he had requested from the vending machine, “I honestly expected to just sign up for Aikido and leave, but part of me is really glad that I didn’t.”</p><p>“That was actually the first time I’ve seen the gym with that many students. Not a lot of people here are interested in joining clubs for some odd reason, but it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one trying new things.” Kaoru laughed, biting into his snack.</p><p>“Please,” Nanako snorted, “I didn’t think you were going to join. I wasn’t sure if that was in your realm, but I think it’s cool that you’re expanding your horizons.”</p><p>“You think so?” Kaoru gasped.</p><p>“Yeah,” Nanako reassured, “It makes me feel like doing the same, honestly. An interest for an interest?”</p><p>Kaoru wasn’t sure what she was proposing, but whatever it was he was sure it was gonna be interesting, so he nodded in agreement.</p><p>“As you’ve been telling me, you aren’t obligated to do anything. But… sure.” Kaoru agreed.</p><p>And so the two of them continued to talk, all the way down to the train station. Talking about Aikido and eating away at their snacks.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Honestly :/ This chapter kinda sucks, though I said mentally to myself I’d much rather update it than leave it hanging... but the next chapter will be way better and interesting than this! When will I update it? Unsure, generally as soon as I can though</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>gay parents</p></blockquote></div></div>
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